Keegan makes Owen captain

Michael Owen will be handed the captain's armband on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan attempts to draw a line under any conflict between the two men.

The striker revealed his disquiet at his relationship with Keegan during the
56-year-old's reign as England boss in his autobiography, and his words could
have come back to haunt him this week.

But Keegan insisted as he was unveiled as Sam Allardyce's successor yesterday
that, while he was shocked by Owen's comments, he had no problem with the club's
£17million record signing.

Indeed, he will ask the 27-year-old to lead the team out against Bolton
on Saturday as a new era in the club's history gets underway.

Keegan said: 'Not only will he play, I will make him captain. He is the right
guy to lead us - and that tells you what I think of him.

'I know people will try to make something of the stuff in his book, but
people who know me know it will not bother me - any more than it will bother me
if it is right to bring Alan Shearer here as number two.

'Other people might say, 'He will be a threat to you'. It won't bother me.'

The possibility of Shearer following Keegan, the man who paid £15million for
his services during the summer of 1996, back into St James' Park is still a
realistic one after the new manager confirmed he would be making a call to the
37-year-old.

It remains to be seen whether there is a role for him at the club which will
suit both men with Keegan admitting he will give the members of Allardyce's huge
backroom staff a chance to prove their worth.

In the meantime, he will set about the task of reviving the club's Barclays
Premier League fortunes having looked on appreciatively from the stands as they
demolished Stoke 4-1 in Wednesday night's FA Cup third-round replay.

However, he will be under no illusions as to how difficult that could be,
particularly this evening with three men - Emre, Alan Smith and Nicky Butt -
suspended, and Habib Beye, Abdoulaye Faye, Geremi and Obafemi Martins away with
their respective countries at the African Nations Cup.

When he announced his side to journalists for his first game in charge last
time around against Bristol City, Keegan had only 10 names on his list, and he
admitted things might be worse tonight.

He said with a smile: 'With the suspensions and people away, you might only
get nine.

'I have done that a couple of times - I had 12 in once, and I couldn't get
away with that either.